Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more

Download & Play

Questions

Newspaper Page Text

1 V R
r I ST
r J y
l I F
i 1f 1
rliw r 1 J li
C > w
I
J
1 I t j
i > f j1j 1 t
S ageS 9 to 16 I THE MORNiNG EXAMINER Part Two fj
TjF
r
VOL VINO 122 OGDEN CITY UTAH SUNDAY MORNING MAY 2 1909 PRICE FIVE CENTS T p
t
I tl
l y
z
r r r
f r II 4
I
I
t B IN 3T
C tL r t
A 1 1 AFRICA
I 11 On the Spoor 01 th ing 01 Beasts
h bi r LB Y LO R D D ElL A MER E
tltd Foremost among the great hunting aiithonlifs of the English speaking world is Lord Dclamcrc He is credited with Icing
ifie heaviest killer it the party which bagged the record number of African lions some few years ago JH East Central Africa
1 his prowess fv familiar to every native Ao long ago a locality beset with lions sent a delegation four hundred miles to call on
r Lord Delamerr to ask him to come and wipe out the destroyers of their cattle In this article he vividly contrasts the theory
i and practice of lion hunting in the region which ExPresident Roosevelt will invade
O get good sport In
Somnllliind tho first
1 T thing is to gel n
good shikari There
are excellent men to
be found with care
i and good luck but a
great many who are
absolutely worthless
In addition to oth
t
ers I have always had ono man Ab
j dulla Ashur as head shikari Besides
1 being an agreeable companion he Is
I far and away tho best finder of game I
have over seen In tho country
His pluck Is undeniable and the
t only difficulty I have had with
him Is to prevent him going
I where I did not care to go myself
I r This may sound exaggerated praise of
It a native but among other things he
l grappled a lion which had knocked me
d down being severe mauled before
y
he got tho brute off so that I natur
ally entertain a very high opinion of
him Owing to his skill In tracking
i have only lost ono wounded lion out
of many that were hit and that was
3I not his fault as tho blood stopped al
most directly and tho ground was
nothing but stones for miles This
speaks for Itself as any ono who has
shot lions knows how difficult it Is to
t recover a wounded beast without dogs
i I only once had tho help of dogs
after wounded lions Wo were camped
v down In the Hand among tho Eldegall
villages under Sultan Dcrla One day
I went out to try to get some meat
t for the natives accompanied by a war
rior called Hassan and his pony I
had Just shot an orjx and we were
cutting It up when the smallest So
V mall I have ever seen came running
up to say he had just observed five
t lions asleep under a tree close by
This man belonged to the lowcaste
t tribe of Midgans people who do not
lice together In ono tribe but are
scattered all over Somallland in differ
ent villages where they arc chiefly
engaged In killing antelope for meal
other Somalia as a rule thinking It
below their dignity to do anything but
go out occasionally on looting expedi
tions Midgans are armed with bows
and poisoned arrows and each of
them carries a knife Until quite
lately no other Somali would use a
bow but now It Is quite a common
thing to meet a native belonging to
another trlbo who has discarded his
spears for a bow and quiver of
poisoned arrows
Shooting Lions with Poisoned
Arrows
d Lions are occasionally killed by
Midgans but the poison on the arrows
cannot be very strong as frequently
t after being sick two or throe limes
the lion scorns to recover and get
I away Captain Swayno gives an ac
count of the way In which these Mid
Inns hunt the oryx with their dogs
But to get on with my story The
little Midgan carried a bow nearly JIB
long as himself and was followed by
about a dozen small native dogs with
curly sterns and prick ears These
llttlo curs were wonderfully broken
The man trotted off In front of us
and when he got near the place where
he had seen the lions he simply put
out his hand and all the dogs lay
down In a bunch and never attempted
to follow on after us Then wo stalked
carefully towards a big thorn tree ris
ing above the bush This was where
tho lions were said to be Tho bush
was very open and when we camo in
sight of the tree the lions were Just
1 decamping Thero were four of them
not fivenn old lioness and three
lions perhaps not quite full grown
and with very llltlo mane Hassan
had followed close behind on his pony
BO I shouted to him to try and keep
14 his eye on the lioness and ran on my
self with Abdiilla after one of tho
u lions This ono did not seem much
inclined to run and after a short
burnt I managed to get a bullet into
him somewhere Just ns he disappeared
l1 I t Into some thick bushes
At that moment wo caught sight of
another lion trotting along parallel to
us about 200 yards off Tho wounded
St ono was Keeping up a continuous low
growling In the bushes 110 thinking
he would not get far away we ran to
cut off the other lIe turned off when
he caught sight of us and we had a
r long stern chase after him as n re
sult of which I was so blown I could
not hit him although ho was lobbing
r along not more than 100 yards ahead
b At last I did get a bullet Into his
flank Ho at once turned and growl
h ing fiercely came bounding a fow
r + yards towards us as If trying to make
up his mind to charge Whether ho
would have done so or not I do not I
know uI my second barrel caught him
on tho point of the shoulder bringing
him on to his none and beforo he I
could recover himself I put in smother I
bullet from my second rifle and fin
1 ished him
It Is morn than likely he would not
have charged as I have several times
seen a lion make this kind of demon
stration when slightly hit moreI
i think to try to frighten his assailant
y
i
J
P <
r
I
A
1 4
than anything else A lion that really
means charging up comes quite silent
ly galloping very fast along the
ground like a dog
A Wounded Lion at Bay
While this was going on we could
hear Hassan shouting in the distance
so now wo ran off towards tho sound
When we started the shouts seemed
to be almost stationary but as we ran
they got further and further off till
at last we could hear nothing Wo
then turned to go back for tho wound
ed lion As we got near the place
where we had left him we could hear
a tremendous row going on men
shouting dogs barking and the unmis
takable grunts of an angry lion Run
ning up wo found the lion with his
shoulder broken standing In a bush
surrounded at a respectful distance
by the little dogs They kept up an
Incessant yapping and every now and
then tho lion would mako a drive at
them but they were much too quick
for him with his broken shoulder and
were at him again directly ho re
treated to the bush The little Mid
gan and one of my men were close
by yelling with excitement As I
walked up to try to get a shot with
out hitting one of tho pack tho lion
took no moro notice of the dogs but
kept his eyes fixed on me I never
saw a lion look nastier but suppose
his broken shoulder had sickened him
and I shot him without difficulty Tho
Midgan after calling his dogs had
light IL He wan very unwell with
fever at the time and although ho
had two or three shots ho was so
shaky ho could not hit her and at
last felt so ill he had to glvo her up
Ills shikari told me tho lioness was
very much bent from being badgered
about In the sun and he was suro wo
could find her I owed her one for
frightening Hassan so we started at
onco Hassan not coming but sending
a relation of his on the same Bony
After a short ride we got to the place
and found the tracks going into a
long strip of high feathery grass Wo
cast all around and could find no
tracks coming out so decided to burn
the patch It was about 200 yards
long and perhaps 50 broad I could
not command the whole of it so I
told the men to light it at the top
and along one side and Abdulla and
I took up our station halfway down
tho other side about 30 yards out
from tho edge At tho bottom end I
put the warrior on the pony to see
If tho lioness broko that way Al
most directly the grass was lit a big
spotted hyena blundered out and camo
within a few yards of us but tho
great part of tho patch was burnt be
fore there was any sign of tho lioness
Then I caught sight of her slinking
along through tho thin grass at tho
edge of tho strip going towards the
bottom end Sho did not see us as
wo were rather behind her and stand
ing qulto utlll
mine was very nearly caught ono day
In tho open He was trying to round
up a lion and got rather too closo
to It on a tired pony Ho only Just
got away This game lion afterwards
chased mo and two or three of my
men for quite a long time Unless a
pony falls down I am sure there Is
nothing to be feared from a lion In
tho open If ono gives him a pretty
wide berth so IS to get a start when
he charges Aajx rule tho lion will
give up the chase after 100 yards or
so This pony of Hassans was about
the best I ever saw In Somallland
I
Ho would not put a price on It bo
causo ho said ho could mako quite a i
respectable Income by making looting
expeditions on Its back as It was so
fast nobody could catch It
Killing Camels to Save a Pony
A year after this I met Hassan
again and asked him how his pony
was He said it was very well but
that he had very nearly lost it a short
time before Ho had been down in
tho waterless plain on a looting ex
pedition with some other Eldcgalla
warriors After a successful raid they
split up to avoid pursuit and Hassan
was on his way home driving some of
the looted camels In front of him It
was a very dry year and although it
was the rainy season ho had been
unable to find any water In pools to
glvo his pony The result was that
having been rid en hard for two or
three days with little or no water to
WITH A SAVAGE SNARL HE CHARGED DIRECTLY AT THE THICKET WHERE I WAS CONCEALED
run on after us and had come on tbo
wounded lion We skinned this beast
and the lllllo Midgan rathor amused
us as he got so very much annoyed
because his dogs would not cat some
great chunks of raw lionflesh ho cut
off and offered them We wero on
our way to skin tho other lion when
wo mot Hassan looking rather sorry
for himself Ho said that the lioness
had trotted quite quietly at first and
he had brought her round in a clrclo
towards the place where ho had left
us riding alongside of her and shout
Ing to let us know where ho was
Unluckily sho crossed tho track of
tho wounded lion and after smelling
at tho blood sho became perfectly un
manageable making off at a gallop
and charging him whenever ho got
In front to try to turn her At last
she had gono into tho thick bush on
somo hills where he had lost her
When we had skinned the other lion
wo mado a cast to try to pick up tho
fourth but could make nothing of
hlmI never got this lion although
he killed one of our donkeys the next
day
Badgering an Angry Lioness
I
We had not been back in camp very
long when my companion camo In say
Ing hu had run across a lioness in
the hills which he was sure was the
ono we had seen an she was very
angry She had run Into some long I
grass and had charged out towards I
his men when they woro going up to j
7
r
When I shot she seemed to stumble
forward but recovering herself
caught sight of the man on the pony
and before I could shoot again she
was half way towards him going like
a flash Ho had not seen hor when
I shot as sho was hidden by tho
grass and by tho time he got his pony
turned around and started she was
close to him He galloped straight
away from mo and I dare not Ore at
tho lioness for fear of hitting him
For nearly 200 yards it looked any
money on tho lioness She got right
under tho ponys tall but did not seem
to know how to strike and at length
to my great relief tho pony began
to gain on her She at once pulled up
and turned into a bush where she lay
down stretched out at full length
panting Running up I shot her be
fore sho could prepare for another ef
fort My first bullet had gone through
tho muscles of tho forearm just below
the shoulder and bolng solid had only
drilled quite a small hole The na
tives said that the reason she could
not catch the pony was because a lion
could not spring before a momentary
halt to crouch If this Is so n pony
could always get away from a lion
galloping straight behind It unless the
pony was such a bad one that tho lion
could como alongside On two or
three occasions I havo been chased
myself In the open grass plain but
have always cot a fair start and my
pony has had no difficulty In keeping
out of the lions
way A pony boy of
4
drink tho pony got beat and at last
lay down about 20 miles from tho
wells they were making for No
amount of stick would get it on its
legs again and Hassan was In de
spair Ho knew there were no vil
lages at the wells whero he could get
vessels In which to carry water back
to the pony and It seemed as if noth
ng could be done to save it At last
ho thought of a plan Driving tho
camel at top speed to the wells he
gave them as much water na they
could drink and hurried them back
again He found tho pony whero ho
had loft It In a very bad way but
Immediately proceeding to kill and cut
open the camels he took tho water out
of their stomachs and gave It to the
pony which revived sufficiently to
struggle to the wells After a few
days restll completely recovered
Hassan added that ho could very doou
get some more camels and that ho
would rather have cut tho throats of
a hundred than havo lost his
pony
This story shows n rat deal of ro
source in a native but the lIfo a So
mali leads makes him wonderfully
quick at finding a way out of a fix of
this kind It was very lucky the pony
was not killed by lion or hyenas
while Hassan was away
Just before Hassans pony wan near
ly caught by the lioness we had a pony
killed by lions the man on his back
escaping rather cleverly At that tlmo
we had two separate camps His or
seven miles apart each of them on the
t
4
edge of the Marar Prairie on a ban
or open grass plain many mites In ex
tent This wag the best place for
lions it has over been my luck to come
across Hardly a day passed that
lions wore not seen by one or the other
of us very often right out In the open
miles from any bush It was cool
cloudy weather while we were there
and the lions seemed to do most of
tholr hunting in the daytlmo There
wcro so many nnd they wero BO bold
that tho Somalia were quite norvous
about walking through tho bush In the
daytime Between us wo shot 24
lions in this place In a little over a
fortnight Besides lions there was
more game than I have over seen any
where else Largo herds of hart
bocste oryx and Sommcrlngs gazelle
wero to bo seen feeding In every direc
tion Besides this In the open there
wore a good many ostriches and a fow
hunting cheetahs In the bush at the
back of our camps were Wallers ga
zollos leopards warthog and Innu
merable dlhdlk and birds In the
rocky hills I saw several kiip spring
ers
One morning my companion was
roused by his natives who told him
that three lions were Just crossing a
strip of open ground within 100 yards
of his camp Before ho was ready
two or three of the men Jumped on
ponies and galloped after tho lions
three very fino males with manes
which were by that time making off
Tho natives meant to try and keep
thorn engaged till the hunter had
time to get his rifle and cartridges
and catch them up The lions wero
galloping among scattered mimosa
scrub making for the thick bush be
yond and with an object In view n
lion can get along at a very fair pace
In the cool of the morning One of
the men got a start of the others and
was rapidly overhauling tho lions
when ho lost sight of thorn for a mo
ment Ho galloped up to the bush
where bo had last seen them and as
ho rounded it one lion came at him
from behind and tho other two from
the front They had got sick of run i
ning and had waited for him The na
tive did a very clover thing There
was no chance of getting away by
galloping as he was regularly hemmed
In so half checking tho pony ho put
his heel on Its wither and Jumped
right Into the middle of a mimosa
bush Almost as ho Jumped the lions
knocked the pony over and when my
companion came up he found them
eating it taking no notice of the
dismounted men close by The first shot
hit one and while ho was following
It up the other two gave his men tho
slip These two lions woro decidedly
out of luck as I got them the sarao
night
Approaching Big Game in Jungle
That morning a lioness killed n
heifer close to my camp I had al
ready seen her tracks severaltimes
Xl
h
11
lOt
but they had always led us on to some
stony hills where we had lost them
This time the same thing happened
again so thinking she would probably
come back that night to finish the
heifer wo decided to sit up for her
Wo therefore made an enclosure of
thorns under a mimosa bush near by
The hat top of the bush came
down to meet tho thorns built
up all around and one could
hardly tell the wholo thing was
not a hush In the front there was a
hole to shoot through and at the back
wo left an opening so that we could
got inside After this we returned
back to camp and In the evening after
dinner went oft again takIng my bed
ding oia donkey This donkey was
also to sere as a bait for the natives
had cut up and taken away the heifer
Vo tied the donkey by one foreleg
almost ouchjng the fence of our
zoreba and afTer shoving in my bed
ding crawled through the opening
atl the back Two men who had
como with us crammed this hole up
with horns and then Went away
talking loudly to mako the lioness
think that all was safe If she woro
anywhere noar
After looking about for some time I
made out the lioness slinking along
behind our bush She would not como
up to the donkey hut lay down some
way off under a bush There was no
hole on that side so I could not shoot
with any certainty and at last need
Ing sleep I lay down telling Abdulla
to keep his eye on the lioness and
wake me if there was any chance of
a shot I had not slept long when he
touched me at the same time putting
his hand over my mouth to prevent
me calling out on being suddenly
awoke I got up on my knees looking
out of the hole but for a moment I
could not male out anything
It was a lovely night but oven by
tho brightest moonlight A lion Is not
a very easy thing to see There was
an open glade In front of the donkey
and at last standing out in tho open
I saw two lions They seemed as If
they could not make out why tho
donkey did not run away and stood
quite still looking at him As T
watched they suddenly started and
camo racing towards us side by side
like two enormous dogs When tho
lions got up to tho donkey they did
I
not seem to stop their rush hut
donkey and lions all went down with I
a crash together How they actually
I
knocked him over I did not see as at
I
that moment I drew back my head
Involuntarily because although we
were absolutely safe inside a mass of
mimosa thorns the whole thing felt
unpleasantly close When I looked
out again I could easily have touched
one of the lions which was standing
with Its foropawH on the donkey and
Us hind quarters within a few inches
of our fence The other lion was
standing on the far sido looking mo
straight in the face but I am sure he
could not see me as tho moon was
right In his eyes making thorn shine
as It they wero alight I could only
sco his head as the other lions body
was In the way so I determined to
give the ono nearest me n shot Thero
was very little of him to be seen ex I
cept his hind quarters but he was so
close I was sure the bullet would drive
right through him
Quick Shooting in a Crisis
As the rifle came up to my shoulder
It touched u branch which seemed
to make a crack like a pistol shot and
the lion turned half round to see what
It was At the same moment I fired
and he fell rolling over and over
against the fence nnd roaring loudly
Thinking that In his struggles ho
might carry aay some of our zereba
I gave him two more shots to finish
him An I hot the second time the
other lion which had run back n few
yards camo and stood close to tho
donkey looking straight towards us
I pulled at his chest directly I was
i TT sro r
c
I f
I
loaded He plunged forward hitting E z
tho corner of our zereba then swerved
off and we heard him crash into a
bush where wo found him stone dead
in the morning The bullot had gone
through his heart These two lions
were very fine specimens Ono had
a thick almost jet black mane tho
other had a lighter mane but for a
wild lion very thick There Is no
doubt these wore the lions seen the
day before as tho next day riding
over to visit the other camp I followed
their back trail to within a mile of
the spot They were in the best ot
condition but empty so that mar ac 1
count for their boldness
Shortly before this I shot thrco ti
limos at a lion which was eating my
donkey The night was as dark as
pitch The lion took very little notice
of the two first shots although one ot
them hit tho donkey in the ribs The
third shot was a very lucky one The
bullet hit the donkey in the stomach
and going through caught the lion at
the Junction of the neck with tho
chest killing him on the spot Ono
would think that a 577 rifle blazed in
his face at about five yards would
frighten any lion This one had killed
and eaten a sheep the night before
taking It from the same village whore
I sat up for him
The two foregoing stories would
seem to show that a largo percentage
of tho lions killed In Somallland moo
shot at night over a bait This is not
really so as It Is quito a chance if a
lion passes the placo where you have
a donkey tied up Night shooting to
my mind is a thing to be avoided ex
cept now and thou as an experience
It generally means a very disturbed
night especially If there are any
hyenas about and In tho morning you
are not fit for a hard days work Oc
casionally by bright moonlight it Is °
very interesting but if circumstances
admit of lions being killed by day it
is rather like shooting a boar in a fine
pigsticking country to kill a lion over
a bait at night Sometimes it is tho
only chance you have of getting a lion
cither because you aro moving camp
next day or because the country
unsuitable for tracking Under thus
circumstances you are bound to try It
I have never myself shot more than
two lions in ono night but a man
whom I met in tho country showed
mo the skins ot four he had shot when
sitting up over two dead body of an
elephant It was very dark or ho
might have got any number as he told
mo ho was shooting most of the night
nnd that in tho morning thero wero
tracks of many lions all round the rile
cass
I have once or twice eat up over A
dead animal This way of getting lions r
Is only likely to be successful when
there are many hyenas about as they
mako such a noise that they will at
tract any lion that may como vast
within a reasonable distance
By permission of L > ncman3 Green ft
Co New York
Copyright 1SC9 by BenJ B Hampton
DeneHolec
These curious welllIke excavations
I
found In Kent and Sussex are popular J iIIi
ly supposed to belong to the time of
the Danish rulo in England says tho
Youths Companion They are Invari
ably about three feet In diameter and f
seldom less than 60 feet deep Ingress b
and egress wero provided for by t
means of rude ladders or hide reties f
Various explanations have been Cof te 1
fered to account for tholr existence
somo supposing them to have been
places of refuge others that they were
connected with secret forms of wor <
ship still others that they were dug I b
for the extraction of chalk and flint
A 1 Philip in a recent study of tho t
subject advocates the view that thA i
holes were made to serve aj silos or J
granaries They are found close to
gether in groups corresponding wjth
the habit of various tribes of cluster
ing In restricted areas
i i
r
c
u J = Jr
L i t
f 7
c